Encyclopedia of

Osiris

In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Osiris was the god of the beyond whose
death and resurrection brought a guarantee of an afterlife to mortals. He
was a kindly Pharaoh, teaching agriculture, music, arts, and religion to
his people. Jealous of his successful reign, his brother Seth killed him
with the help of many accomplices and took control of Egypt. However,
Seth's reign was foreshortened by Isis's great love for her
husband and brother Osiris, whom she brought back from the dead. A
skillful magician, she gave Osiris breath by flapping her wings above him
while she transformed into a bird. Osiris and Isis then conceived Horus,
their beloved son. Seth, seething in anger, killed Osiris once again, this
time by cutting his body to pieces and throwing them into the Nile River.
Isis, with the help of Anubis, the god with the jackal head, reconstituted
Osiris's body with bandages and embalming rites, thus creating the
first mummy. During this act, the god Thoth recited an incantation.
Finally, Horus avenged his father Osiris in a bloody
duel with Seth in which Horus lost his eye, which was then given as a
food offering to Osiris.

Each of the ceremonies which were followed after Osiris' death,
became the actual rituals that the Egyptians performed to ensure access to
the eternal life after death. Egyptians performed mummification of the
body to preserve it eternally, recited incantations to facilitate access
to the hereafter and provide gifts to help them on their voyage. The
deceased's soul proceeds to Hell and must appear before
Osiris's Court, which weighs the soul's good and bad
actions; the heart must be light as a feather to obtain salvation.
Otherwise, the consequence is torment and destruction.

In pictorial representations, Osiris is portrayed wearing the white
clothes used in mummification; he typically holds the king's
scepter and the judge's whip, symbols of supreme authority.